All Tuckered Out at the Farm

Recently I have adopted a new puppy named Tucker. He has been a wonderful puppy and a joy to be around. We think that he is about 7 months old now. It is my dream to be able to take him to the barn with me and go on trial rides with him. I have started bringing him to the barn with me as much as possible, and it has been fun to watch him get used to the horses and all of the activities at the barn.

My horse Bug and I have been having fun showing him around and helping him to learn the ropes.
At first, Tucker was very excited by the horses and he stayed on his leash a safe distance from them. He had been around horses before with my friend who rescued him, but it had been a few weeks since he had seen one. He got used to the layout at the farm and how to act politely around horses. The first time that I rode while he was at the barn he sat with my barn manager and whined a little bit but soon got over it and sat quietly. He also met the large barn cat named Pounce and kept his distance from him (Pounce is scary even to humans).

Gradually I began taking Tucker out into the fields and trails to play with the other dogs at the farm and he had a blast. Despite the frigid temperatures, his Lab friend Max taught him how to swim and to not get too close to the horses. He also taught him that if the horses start moving towards you to walk away slowly so they do not chase you.

At our last visit to the barn, Tucker was fantastic and played by himself while I groomed Bug, and then we went out on the trails with me leading Bug instead of riding him. I was a proud Mama—he was perfect. He stayed with us while maintaining a safe distance from Bug. We walked through the trails and he got to run while I got to spend valuable time with my horse and dog. It was the perfect afternoon.

I hope in the coming weeks to progress to riding Bug while we go out on the trails. Stay tuned for an update!

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